I realised how these women in South Africa had been the cultural bridge and had been such an important part of our lives.

The question that I still grapple with to this day, is how is it that the system of apartheid that was designed to keep us apart, to keep races separate… created a situation where I had a woman, a black woman, who was living in my home and was my emotional stability. She was my other mother.

In a short video posted on silverbullet.co.za, Matlala acknowledged that apartheid indeed compelled her to seek employment as a domestic worker. However, she said she liked looking after children anyway.